TORONTO — Drake's long-awaited debut didn't disappoint in its first week.

"Thank Me Later" was the top-selling album in Canada and the United States.

In the Toronto native's home country, the CD moved 31,000 copies to beat out Sarah McLachlan's "Laws of Illusion," which premiered at No. 2 with 22,000 albums sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan data.

But the 23-year-old did just as well south of the border, where he topped the charts with 447,000 copies sold -- good for the third-biggest opening week of the year, behind Sade and Lady Antebellum.

McLachlan's latest, her first album of new material in seven years, opened third in the U.S. with 94,000 units sold.

Drake was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won a pair of Junos earlier this year, even though he had yet to put out an album.